Briefings - 1170. page

China Machinery Industry Federation, a government sponsored trade association, reported the results of an investigation conducted in 2006 on foreign companies investing in China. The investigation revealed that many of the world’s top 500 companies doing business in China failed to fulfill their social responsibilities. Southern Weekly conducted the 2006 investigation ranking foreign companies investing in China for social responsibility.

August 1, 2007, marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of China. Chinese military leaders re-iterated allegiance to the Communist Party and rebutted attempts to "nationalize its military forces." However, voices from inside the Chinese military itself are gathering momentum, calling for nationalization of the armed forces and denouncing allegiance to the Communist Party.

The Shanxi Provincial Communication Administration recently issued a new regulation restricting mass text messaging (Short Message Service) over cell phones. The regulation mandates that information service providers must self censor, while government approval is required for dissemination of content pertaining to national security and social unrest.

At a press conference held on August 6, 2007, Jiang Xiaoyu, one of the executive vice presidents of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games said, "We disagree with the attempt to politicize the Olympics. We are opposed to such a practice."

On July 30, 2007, Xinhua republished an article from China Economic Times on poverty in China. The article discusses four major problems pertaining to poverty in China: 1.) The widening disparity in income; 2.) Inadequate medical care in poor regions; 3.) Rural poverty and 4.) Poor people being deprived of socio-economic welfare benefits.

Statistics provided by the China Ministry of Public Security show there are a staggering 2.30 million private security workers in China, far surpassing even the number of policemen in the entire country. Over half of them are not subject to any government regulation. Their names are not on file with the public security authorities and they have little training. Hired by private companies, “they do not abide by the law, but follow the money and do whatever their employers tell them, thus playing the role of ‘evil, black thugs.’”